Coca‑Cola volunteers roll up their sleeves for World Cleanup Day

Monday, September 17, 2018

Hundreds of representatives from Coca‑Cola and Coca‑Cola HBC took time out to join coordinated cleanups as part of the global movement of World Cleanup Day on 15 September. Just some of the initiatives that took place across our network are highlighted on the map below.

Czech Republic

Coca‑Cola backed the Czech Republic’s first national ‘plogging’ event, which combines jogging and litter collection. Over 1,000 people criss-crossed the country to collect, sort and recycle waste in an event run by Plogging Czechia.

Poland

Our associates also pulled on their running shoes in Warsaw, taking part in a run to celebrate World Cleanup Day and volunteering to clean up the banks of the Vistula River on 21 September. The event was organized by the NGO, Our Earth Foundation.

Bulgaria

System associates turned up in huge numbers to take part in the 11th edition of My Green City. United by the ambition to transform the country’s cities into cleaner spaces, over 1,500 volunteers gathered in 15 different locations to help collect and recycle waste.

Adria

Adria’s support of World Cleanup Day 2018 tied in with its own ‘From Source to Sea’ initiative. Four cleaning actions were organized in partnership with local NGOs and municipalities, with 120 volunteers rolling up their sleeves to help in Velika Gorica near Zagreb, and over 170 cleaning up three areas along the Adriatic coast.

Ireland

Employees from across the Coca‑Cola system in Ireland cleaned up the coastline on 14th September as part of the 2018 Big Beach Clean, run in partnership with An Taisce, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful and our key customer, Centra. Over 400 employees took part in eight events, collecting an incredible three tonnes of waste.

Cyprus

We organized an ocean cleanup activity with professional divers along the coast of the Akamas peninsula. This event proved a taster for the beach cleanup initiative that the Coca‑Cola system in Cyprus organized on 26 September to mark the launch of its Zero Waste Beach program.

Greece

Zero waste was top of mind in Greece on World Cleanup Day, with Coca‑Cola HBC and Coca‑Cola Greece associates continuing to work closely on a joint Zero Waste program. The Coca‑Cola Foundation is also funding ‘Recycle at the Beach’. This aims to clean up the coast of Thessaloniki, boost awareness for recycling and educate people on how to recycle – all in an engaging and fun way.

Switzerland

Our teams helped to clean public spaces around our offices and production sites in Brüttisellen, Bussigny and Vals – not only a great team-building exercise, but a day that delivered an immediately visible result.

Baltics

CCHBC Estonia inspired colleagues around our sustainability vision with an ambassador lunch while others joined cleanup activities in Latvia and Lithuania. In total, about 150 people cleaned the beach in the Latvian seaside town of Carnikava, while in Lithuania our teams focused on the regional park in the Alytus region.

Russia

Our colleagues in Russia held extensive World Cleanup Day activities over a week, starting off with a city cleanup in Novosibirsk, followed by a park cleanup in Novosibirsk, beach cleanups in Barnaul and Ekaterinburg and a city cleanup in Saint Petersburg.

Belarus

Here, we have supported the Let’s Do It! World Cleanup since 2015. This year, students at the country’s universities and colleges team up to collect waste. Over 800 people took part, with CCHBC Belarus partnering with local environmental NGOs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Environment.

FYROM

Pivara Skopje capitalized on the environmental awareness raised by World Cleanup Day to launch a new sustainability action to raise consumer awareness of the need to replace non-degradable plastic bags with eco-friendly alternatives. This action saw canvas shopping bags handed out to consumers at retail chains Vero and Tinex.

Nigeria

Partnering with the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance, over 200 NBC volunteers helped clean up one of Lagos’ busiest markets, Oshodi. Fifty volunteers in Benin, Edo state, did the same at a popular market while volunteers in Asejire reached out to truck drivers and food vendors in the community to teach them about responsible waste disposal.

Romania

Our teams used World Cleanup Day as an occasion to inform and engage local communities, promoting our programs for separate waste collection. Associates also got their hands dirty, volunteering for a number of external cleaning opportunities.

Armenia

Community was also front and center in Armenia, where CCHBC associates joined in the country’s biggest every cleanup. Organized by Cleanuparmenia.org, people across the nation went out to clean their streets and local environment.

Through activities like this, we can undoubtedly make a difference, but to really work towards a litter-free future, we need to maintain the momentum, and bring others with us. The engagement and passion of our associates, on World Cleanup Day, and throughout the year, shows how deeply our people care about this vital cause, with everyone wanting to play their part.

Of course, these clean-ups are just a start and a world without waste takes time, investment and effort. The Coca‑Cola system is committed to that path through our 2030 World Without Waste strategy, through design, collection and partnering. And Coca‑Cola HBC recently released its 2025 Sustainability Commitments that include specific packaging commitments to support that journey (you can read more here).